The number of devices connected to the Internet is increasing rapidly, including not only traditional communication devices, such as computers and mobile phones, but also various peripheral devices, such as printers, data projectors, etc. In addition, sensors and actuators can be embedded practically in any physical object, which enable to identify the physical objects and link them to wired and wireless networks, for example using NFC (Near-Field Connection) or RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology.
All these devices connected to Internet or being provided with some other means of communication are, at least in theory, controllable through a network connection. For example, a visitor coming to an office may wish to use a peripheral device, e.g. a printer, in the office. On the other hand, someone may see an interesting device in a shop or on a street, and he/she may wish to obtain more information about the device.
Nevertheless, no universally valid and intuitive method for obtaining information about these devices or controlling them remotely has been presented.